The animated Lilo & and Stitch is one of my favourite animated movies ever if not one of my favourites of any kind of movie. Watching a remake of a beloved film can be hard as it is reminding you so much of that film but just… isn’t that film. The bones of the story are here in this “live action” remake but yet so much of what made the original special, the heart of the film, ironically just didn’t feel as real.
I will give the film credit for the outstanding performances of Kealoha and Agudong as Lilo and her sister. And Sanders is back as Stitch, an only slightly different animated version of the character that makes it extra ad easily similar to the original version. But none of this could help when the story was going through the motions and not capturing the emotions that made the first film so amazing.
None of the changes this film puts into place enhance the story or give it a different point of view. They all feel cosmetic. Changing Bubbles’ role, adding in a grandmotherly figure, making Jumba more villainous, or even just pulling back from the Elvis-ness of the original; it all feels for nothing. Perhaps it was the live action actors attempting to interact with the animated counterparts that made it feel like they had less of a connection. Whatever it was what made he 2002 film so incredibly special.
The story is still here and it remains a good story. This Lilo & Stitch is still watchable. It’s just a pale imitation.
Lilo & Stitch
Starring: Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, Kaipo Dudoit, Tia Carrere, Jason Scott Lee
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Writers: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes
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